Cyprus has protested “the continuing violations of the national airspace and the territorial waters of Cyprus by Turkey, as well as the infringements by the latter of international air traffic regulations, and appeals for their immediate cessation.”
The protest is included in a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, dated 6 September 2019, signed by Chargé d’affaires a.i. of the Permanent Mission of Cyprus to the United Nations, Polly Ioannou.
In her letter, Ioannou says that, “upon instructions from my Government, I enclose herewith two documents detailing the violations of Cyprus’s national airspace, the infringements of international air traffic regulations in Cyprus’s flight information region and the illegal use of closed ports and airports in Cyprus by Turkey during the month of June 2019,” noting that “this pattern of behaviour constitutes a serious concern for the Republic of Cyprus and is a continuous violation of its sovereignty and adds on the catastrophic repercussions of the invasion and ongoing occupation of part of its territory by Turkey.”
“Furthermore, the persistent policy of violating the Charter of the United Nations and international law and breaching international rules and regulations is a constant threat to international peace and security, negatively impacts regional stability, jeopardizes the safety of international civil aviation, creates difficulties for air traffic over Cyprus and prevents the creation of an enabling environment in which to conduct the Cyprus peace process,” she says.
She adds that “Turkey continues to systematically harass civilian and military aircraft within the Nicosia flight information region, while, during the same period, the regime installed by the occupying power in the area of Cyprus that it occupies illegally issued four notices to airmen relating to exercises conducted by the Turkish Air Force. Additionally, Turkish commercial aircraft systematically use the Tympou airport, which continues to operate illegally following the closure by the Cyprus Government of all ports of entry in the areas where it does not exercise effective control.”
“The said actions of Turkey, which has continued to occupy the northern part of the Republic of Cyprus since 1974, are clearly aimed at undermining Cyprus’s sovereignty, consolidating the ongoing de facto division and upgrading the secessionist entity’s status by claiming a purported airspace over the occupied territory of the Republic,” Ioannou points out.
Ioannou adds that, “in this respect, I would like to underline that there is only one Cypriot State, which is the Republic of Cyprus, as stipulated in various Security Council resolutions [in particular resolutions 541 (1983) and 550 (1984)], in which the Council declared legally invalid the purported secession of part of Cyprus.”
She notes that “the Republic of Cyprus reiterates its call to respect Security Council resolutions and adhere to the principles of sovereignty and non-interference enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.”
“Finally, I would like to urge Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot community to contribute to a meaningful resumption of the peace process, instead of focusing on undermining the sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus and promoting Cyprus’s partition through the creation of facts on the ground and the consolidation of the status quo, including by seeking to politically upgrade the secessionist entity,” Ioannou concludes.
(Cyprus News Agency)
